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Will iTunes kill the CD?

We're getting close to the day when a major artist or group releases a download-only album. Maybe it'll be the next Rolling Stones or Sufjan Stevens album. That'll be a dark day.

Just last week, I went to my local record store to pick up "Hemispheres," the new release of Bill Frisell and Jim Hall, a jazz guitar duo. I left the store empty-handed.

Next, I checked on Amazon.com. It stocked the album in MP3 format only. Great, but I refuse to pay $17.98 for a crappy-sounding MP3.

Next, I checked the record … Read more

Musicians don't deserve money, they earn it

I've been invited by Sonicbids CEO Panos Panay to speak on a panel at SXSW later this month entitled "Artist as Entrepreneur," and as I've been thinking about the subject, my attention was drawn to this recent post on CD Baby's bulletin boards (it was first posted elsewhere). Katie Taylor, the artistic director of Opera Theater Oregon, is worried about the rising perception that art--particularly music--should be available for a very low price or free.

To change this perception, she argues, artists need to convince the general public that there's a fundamental difference between … Read more

Sony boombox mistaken for magic toadstool

The ZS-E5 boombox unveiled for Sony's 2009 line show is a bit of an oddity. Instead of slapping on an iPod dock like most of today's portable speaker systems, this little toadstool-esque music box keeps things simple with a CD player, aux input, and AM/FM radio. The CD player works with CD-R/RW discs and includes an LED track number display and large buttons.

Sure, the features are basic, the design is a little cartoonish, and the handle is a little small (for grown-ups, at least), but the $40 price is right on target. The ZS-E5 boombox … Read more

Viewsonic goes ultra thin

Every now and then I actually like getting excited about things I'll never have. Probably something carried over from my teenage years, watching MTV and all the beautiful people with their fancy cars, perfect bodies, and clothes that somehow just fit right. Hmmm, is it possible I still haven't worked through these issues?

Anyway. Speaking of things I'll never have (but honestly am not that excited about), this week Viewsonic announced what it refers to as an "ultra-thin bezel commercial LCD", the CD4230 and a "multimedia-capable LCD HDTV", the VTMS2431.

The bezel of … Read more

Which digital-distribution service is cheapest?

Last week, I blogged about digital distributor RouteNote and did a brief comparison with CD Baby and Tunecore, two better-known services that help independent artists place their songs in online music stores such as iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Now RouteNote has one-upped me on its own blog and run a detailed--and very helpful--mathematical comparison of itself versus CD Baby, Tunecore, The Orchard, and Musicadium.

You can check out a direct comparison of up-front charges and ongoing revenue splits, as well as a chart showing how much money the artist will earn after selling specific numbers of songs.

RouteNote acknowledges when … Read more

The 404 287: Where our mouths are agape with a mixture of pleasure, longing, and duck meat

Jeff, Justin and Wilson start the show off right today with a SNL Christopher Walken reference. Always a great way to start the day. Getting into actual stories, we chat about ways to actually sleep. Tip #1: Sleep when you are tired. iTunes launches an indie music store. Gore Verbinski decides to make a video game based on Clue. And yes, people stalk their exes online.

EPISODE 287 Download today's podcast… Read more

The 404 287: Where our mouths are agape with a mixture of pleasure, longing, and duck meat

Jeff, Justin, and Wilson start the show off right today with a SNL Christopher Walken reference. Always a great way to start the day. Getting into actual stories, we chat about ways to actually sleep. Tip No. 1: Sleep when you are tired. iTunes launches an indie music store. Gore Verbinski decides to make a video game based on "Clue." And yes, people stalk their exes online.

EPISODE 287 Download today's podcast… Read more